Harborview Medical Center
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Harborview Medical Center, located on Seattle's First Hill, is the public hospital of King County, Washington and is managed by the University of Washington. It was founded in 1877 as King County Hospital, a six-bed welfare hospital in a two-story south Seattle building. By 1906, it had moved into a new building in Georgetown, with room for 225 patients. Another move occurred in 1931, when the center wing of the present hospital on First Hill was completed, and the hospital's name was changed to Harborview.
Harborview was instrumental in establishing Medic One, one of the country's first emergency-response programs. Many of Washington State's emergency medical service technicians are trained at Harborview. Its burn center is one of the largest in the United States, specializing in pioneering treatments, including the use of artificial skin products, which have cut mortality rates dramatically for severely burned patients. Harborview is also the principal clinical site for the University of Washington's center for AIDS research, one of the few programs in the country. The Madison Clinic, Harborview's outpatient facility, is the largest single provider of AIDS care in King County.
Harborview's Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress was established in 1973 and is one of the most experienced programs in the country providing medical and counseling services to sexual assault victims and their families. Thousands of patients are treated each year in Harborview's Neurosurgery Department for disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, including head and spinal cord injuries, stroke, brain tumors, degenerative disc disease, and spinal disc herniations. Its orthopedic's service has often been listed as one of the top 10 services of its kind in the country by U.S. News and World Report.
Harborview is a regional Level I trauma center that serves the states of Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. It is the only level I trauma center in these states.
